Markolines Wins Rs 135.20 Crore BMC Microsurfacing Orders for Mumbai’s Express Highways

Markolines Pavement Technologies has won two BMC work orders worth Rs 135.20 crore to resurface Mumbai’s Western and Eastern Express Highways by microsurfacing, with six months to finish each. For anyone who owns or hires out road machines in Mumbai, this is maintenance work rather than new construction. It needs a short, specialised fleet working night shifts, not a full paving train.

What did Markolines disclose?

The Navi Mumbai company told the exchanges on 4 November that BMC had accepted its tender offers for both jobs. Kalkine, Trade Brains and Accord Fintech all carried the filing, and the two values add up exactly to the stated total. Markolines said neither order is a related-party deal. The filing gives no stretch lengths, so a per-km rate cannot be worked out, and we have not estimated one.

This is not the company’s first job on these roads. Markolines earlier did a microsurfacing pilot on both highways for BMC, worth Rs 50.80 crore before GST. The new orders are much larger. They are quoted on a different tax basis, though, so we have not calculated a growth multiple.

Which machines this work needs

Microsurfacing is a thin, cold-laid layer of polymer-modified bitumen emulsion, crushed aggregate, filler and water. One mixing-and-laying unit mixes it and spreads it on the road. That unit is specialist plant, and contractors in this trade usually own it rather than hire it. The open-market demand is in the support fleet around it:

• Surface preparation. On “critical portions” of the Eastern Express Highway, failed patches have to be cut out and rebuilt before the surfacing goes down. That calls for a cold milling machine, a small road roller and tippers to carry away the milled material.
• Feeding the paver. Tippers and a loader at the aggregate stockpile, plus water and emulsion tankers. On night-time lane closures the paver stops when its supply runs out, so these trucks set the pace.
• Cleaning. Mechanical brooms before each pass, because emulsion will not bond to a dusty surface.

Our reading: the order calls for about Rs 22.5 crore of work a month on two of Mumbai’s busiest arterial roads, so the work probably runs on more than one front at a time. If so, the Mumbai hire market for milling machines, tippers and small rollers should get busier at night through the dry season. Owners of standard paver-finishers and large vibratory rollers will see little of it. This is upkeep of an existing surface, and that is a different buyer from new road building, as our road construction equipment guide explains.

The clock matters. Cold emulsion cannot cure in rain. A six-month order that includes the monsoon fits inside Mumbai’s dry season only if work starts in the next few weeks. Any slip pushes the last stretches towards June.

FAQ

How much are Markolines’ new BMC orders worth?

Rs 135.20 crore in total, including GST and physical contingencies: Rs 71.97 crore for the Western Express Highway and Rs 63.23 crore for the Eastern Express Highway.

How long does Markolines have to finish the work?

Six months for each order, with the monsoon period counted inside it. The company has not disclosed start or completion dates.

Does microsurfacing need a paver and heavy rollers?

No standard paver-finisher is used. A dedicated mixing-and-laying unit spreads the material, and heavy rolling is not part of the usual process. Milling machines, small rollers and tippers are needed where failed patches are rebuilt first. The types of pavement failure decide how much of that preparation is needed.

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Source: Kalkine

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